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Thursday, February 08, 2007

Aragonés' Spanish reprieve appals anti-racism activists

Spain's football federation and courts yesterday came under fire for undermining the work of anti-racist campaigners after the judiciary overturned a decision that had criticised the national team manager, Luis Aragon&eacute;s, for "conduct which could be considered racist". Aragon&eacute;s's offensive comments about Thierry Henry to Jos&eacute; Antonio Reyes were widely televised in October 2004, leading to a &pound;1,900 fine from the Spanish football federation for unsporting conduct. That was upgraded to a racism charge by the government-run Spanish Committee for Sporting Discipline, a verdict which both Aragon&eacute;s and his employer challenged in the Madrid courts. They ruled in his favour yesterday, with the Spanish federation saying in a statement: "The court found that the Spanish Committee for Sporting Discipline had incorrectly evaluated the evidence.